Chapter 123: The court reverses course, the swordsman blocks the way
In the Jinluan Hall, there was a lot of noise.
Admitted!
Faced with Zhou Cheng’s trap question, Ma Yan admitted it directly without evading it!
In the crowd, Yuan Li, the imperial censor dressed in a blue shirt, watched quietly, his eyes slowly narrowed, and he quietly glanced at the empress.
As if he had guessed something, a subtle smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.
Correspondingly, Xiang Guo, as the "party leader", frowned and felt uneasy.
Everyone should know that Zhou Cheng's words set the tone. He threw away all the messy clues and only grasped the core.
From the moment Ma Yan nodded and admitted, Zhao Ya fell into a very passive situation.
"Did the Governor admit it?"
Zhou Cheng was startled for a moment, and the "Chuan" pattern on his brow became more and more profound.
Ma Yan looked at him coldly and said sarcastically:
"I am different from Zhou Tingwei. There is nothing wrong with what I have done."
Zhou Cheng didn't pay attention to the sting in his words, and immediately turned around and said to the empress: "Your Majesty, you also heard that Ma Yan has admitted this crime. I sincerely request that Ma Yan and his family be severely punished in accordance with the laws of Dayu." His subordinates are the officials of Lihuatang headed by Zhao Duan!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the other officials of the fifth rank and above of Dali Temple who followed him to the temple came out one after another, saying in unison: "I ask your majesty to punish him severely and make the law strict!"
Among the hundreds of officials, one stood up and echoed loudly: "The imperial edicts are unscrupulous and the people are complaining. This is because the abuses have been accumulated for a long time..."
Another official jumped out to support Dali Temple and criticized Ma Yan.
Not all of them were Zhou Cheng's party members, but some were just adding insult to injury. For a time, there was a constant stream of petitions.
"Crack!"
The eunuch next to the Jinluan Palace raised his whip and beat it hard on the ground:
"Silence——"
The ministers then became quiet. Xu Zhenguan, who was sitting high on the throne, still had the same demeanor, but her eyes became much colder. Her cold voice spread throughout the hall:
"Are you finished?"
No one answered.
Xu Zhenguan said calmly: "Now that I've finished speaking, it's time for you, Ma Yan, to tell them."
What's the meaning?
Zhou Cheng was keenly aware of the strangeness of these words.
"Yes." Ma Yan spoke calmly and looked around at the ministers:
"Zhou Tingwei's words are indeed true, but I have never violated the law when issuing orders."
Zhou Cheng was stunned, and many people were also confused.
However, the next second, Ma Yan explained their doubts and said: "According to the law of Dayu, in ordinary cases, since Dali Temple arrests the criminal first, the imperial edict cannot fight for it. But... there is an exception, and that is It’s the imperial authority’s permission to arrest him!”
Zhou Cheng's face changed slightly, and he already understood what the other party meant.
Sure enough, Ma Yan took out a thick stack of documents from his sleeve, pulled out the top few, and showed them to the princes:
"As early as the day before yesterday, your majesty had sent an order to the government to investigate Xia Jianghou's crimes. If necessary, The relevant procedures are all officially approved and available for review. According to Dayu law, the imperial edict can make arrests beyond its authority, and the three judicial departments cannot obstruct it.
Therefore! Last night, Zhao Duan held my post and arrested Xia Jianghou. He was acting under the emperor's order. He Zheng, the prime minister of Dali Temple, blocked it due to personal grudges and was repelled by Zhao Jisi. This did not violate the law!
Situation! The emperor ordered the arrests first, but Dali Temple detained the people later. According to what I saw, when the arrests were made, Xia Jianghou and Zhou Tingwei were drinking tea in a small party, and they resolutely defended themselves in the face of interrogation.
I also want to ask, how many benefits did Xia Jianghou promise you before Mr. Zhou was willing to come forward? ! "
As soon as he finished speaking, he threw the files in his hand towards Zhou Cheng.
"Wow--"
Papers flew around and scattered all over the floor.
The whole place was silent.
All the officials of Dali Temple were stunned on the spot, never expecting that Ma Yan would give this answer.
Your Majesty has already ordered an investigation of Xia Jianghou... Wasn't it because of his affair with Zhao Duan?
This greatly exceeded their expectations.
As for whether the files on the ground are true or false, are they true, or was the empress working all night to protect the imperial office and made it up afterwards?
Even if someone had doubts, they would not be stupid enough to raise it on the spot.
The truth doesn't matter.
The important thing is that Ma Yan came up with legal reasons, so Zhou Cheng's impeachment was untenable.
"Your Majesty...this matter..."
The face of Zhou Cheng, the minister of Dali Temple, turned from rosy to pale, and then gradually turned livid. He turned to look at the throne.
The empress nodded expressionlessly:
"Zhou Qing misunderstood."
Misunderstanding... Zhou Cheng opened his mouth and tried to make a final struggle:
"But when Zhao Duan came in, he never said that he was acting under the emperor's orders..."
Ma Yan glanced at him and said calmly: "Of all your Majesty's ministers, which one is not acting under the emperor's orders?"
The implication is that since Zhao Duan did it, it must be legal.
You are wrong to question him for not abiding by the law.
Zhou Cheng was speechless.
Those who had just jumped out to support him also fell silent.
In the crowd, Yuan Li smiled undisguisedly. He looked at his old enemy Li Yanfu, but saw that Xiang Guo had already closed his eyes and seemed not to intervene.
This made Yuan Li, who was busy sharpening his sword, a little regretful.
Ma Yan spoke again at this time. He shook the remaining thick file in his hand and said:
"Master Zhou stopped talking, so it's my turn to ask questions. Since Dali Temple claims to be investigating Xia Jianghou, what did it find out?"
Zhou Cheng said with a stern face: "It's just a suspicion, not confirmed yet."
Ma Yan nodded: "Then it's gone. It doesn't matter, I have it."
He took out a piece of paper and read: "According to the verification of my imperial office, Xia Jianghou had a large amount of gold and silver exchanges with Honghuahui, a gang in the capital. With the help of Honghuahui, he secretly opened four gambling houses, underground There are two usury banks..."
"Due to debt collection, thirty-nine people were secretly murdered with the help of the Red Flower Society..."
"Last September, with the help of the Red Flower Society, we indirectly controlled the Human Tooth Organization and trafficked 14 girls from good families to Beijing. They were suspected of paying bribes and hid three of them in a private house. In January this year, they tortured them to death and threw them into the river. Destroy corpses and eliminate traces..."
"As well as the latest one, he kidnapped Feng Lianlian, the daughter of the chief official, but fortunately Zhao Duan rescued her in time. The evidence in the above cases is complete and can be verified."
The Jinluan Palace was quiet.
Behind the crimson official robe of Dali Temple Minister Zhou Cheng, a thin layer of cold sweat quietly broke out on his back.
He did not expect that the imperial edict would remain silent and obtain so much evidence of Xia Jianghou's crimes.
Although some of the most fatal ones, such as some transactions with him, did not happen due to lack of evidence.
But these existing charges alone are enough to send this hereditary marquis to the execution ground.
But if Xia Jianghou goes to prison, will he betray these people? Zhou Cheng quickly went through it in his mind and confirmed that he had gained a lot of benefits from the other party.
But he was very cautious every time and left no evidence.
Moreover, as long as Xia Jianghou is imprisoned, the number of people who want him to shut up will probably be several times greater than the number of people who will save him.
"This man has committed such a heinous crime. If the governor hadn't pointed it out, I would have almost been deceived by him!"
Zhou Cheng turned his back like a book and said with righteous indignation.
Those ministers who stood up just now seemed to be waking up from a dream.
They all turned their guns and cursed Xia Jianghou, begging the empress to punish him severely.
This impeachment against Zhao Duan and Ma Yan seemed to be forgotten by everyone and became the trial of Xia Jianghou.
…
…
Just when the court trial was in full swing.
Zhao Duan also left his home and walked towards the palace for a long time.
After the sun rose, it was so hot that he hid in the car to enjoy the coolness.
Without a mobile phone, the bumpy carriage is really not suitable for reading...
Especially in the storybooks of this era, either a talented man falls in love with a beautiful woman, or a talented man falls in love with a female ghost, or a talented man falls in love with a princess...
Zhao Duan said that the authors of this era were too timid and did not even dare to write about the empress in fantasy, and despised her.
I can only look at the scenery outside the window in boredom.
However, at first the street scene outside was normal, but gradually, he became uneasy.
"Xiao Wang, haven't you arrived at the palace yet?" Zhao Duan suddenly asked.
The driver Xiao Wang also said strangely:
"Sir, something doesn't seem right. I've walked this road more than once, but for some reason, this street feels so strange."
While speaking, he also controlled the carriage to slow down.
Zhao Duan stood up, subconsciously held the saber and raised the car curtain.
I saw the two of them turning into a deserted street at some unknown moment.
There are shops on both sides, but they are all empty, not a single pedestrian.
It’s not closed yet, the shops are open.
Including a noodle shop on the roadside, there are even noodles tumbling in the pot, and the heat is emitting.
But there was not a single figure.
"Stop the car." Zhao Duan said solemnly.
The coachman was also aware of the danger, and hurriedly tightened the reins, held down the weapon at his waist, and looked around cautiously.
The master and servant got out of the car and looked towards the rear first.
However, they saw that the street in the direction they came from was so long that there seemed to be no end in sight.
Looking ahead, they looked the same.
"Sir, what's going on..."
The young official surnamed Wang turned pale: "We won't encounter ghosts hitting the wall, right?"
Zhao Duan raised his hand and scalped him and cursed:
"The sky is clear and the sun is bright, where did the ghosts come from?"
He said with an ugly face: "However, we are indeed in trouble."
At this moment, he thought of the early warning from the "loose official" in Tianshi Mansion:
The bloody disaster lingering above his head!
Zhao Duan initially thought that this disaster should be attributed to Xia Jianghou, but it did not happen yesterday.
But I didn't expect that it would come at this moment.
"Sir, you mean there is someone..." Xiao Wang, the coachman, was stunned for a moment.
Zhao Duan interrupted him, suddenly looked into the distance, his face changed slightly:
"What is that?"
Xiao Wang subconsciously turned his head to look, and then felt a sharp pain in the back of his head, his vision went dark, and he fainted.
Zhao Duan retracted his sword and raised his hand to catch the fainted subordinate.
With Zhu Kui's lessons, he inevitably became more cautious about the people around him.
Although it was impossible to determine whether turning into this strange street had something to do with the coachman, there was no need for him to take the risk.
Moreover, facing an enemy that could threaten his life, having one more follower was of little use.
"I'm sorry, if it has nothing to do with you, I will take you out after I have dealt with the enemy."
Zhao Duan threw his subordinate into the carriage, then raised his hand to calm the restless horse.
He pulled out his saber with a "clang" sound and stepped forward.
Quiet streets, dense buildings.
A cloud floated quietly in the sky, blocking the blazing sunshine and casting shadows.
Zhao Duan raised his knife and walked several hundred steps before suddenly stopping.
There is a tea stall at the front of the street, leaning against a wall made of gray bricks. Under the awning propped up by the tea stall, there are only two tables.
Beside one of the tables, there was a man sitting on a stool.
Wearing a gray burqa and a bamboo hat on his head, inside the burqa was a white swordsman's robe.
He lowered his head and was quietly sipping tea. Apart from a teapot and a tea bowl, there was only a sword lying across the table.
An unsheathed long sword.
A...swordsman?
Zhao Duan raised his eyebrows, a little surprised: "Are you waiting for me?"
The swordsman slowly raised his head. Under the bamboo hat, laughter came from behind the indigo grimace mask:
"I have long admired my name, Zhao Duan."
Zhao Duan stared at that grimace and sighed softly, thinking to himself, Xiao Wang, you guessed it right.
In the clear sky and white sun, there are really ghosts and monsters running rampant.
…
Typos will be corrected first
(End of this chapter)